Original version

BBC Radio 4 LW

Book at Bedtime

Audiobooks

Podcasts

Drama

Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and world literature

Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and literature from around the world

BBC Radio 4 FM

Book at Bedtime: Conrad and Eleanor

Pennie Downie

Robert Glenister

Jasmine Hyde

Jane Rogers

Eileen Horne

Clive Brill

Book at Bedtime: Conrad and Eleanor: Episode 1

Conrad and Eleanor

Episode 1

BBC Radio 4 - Book at Bedtime, Conrad and Eleanor, Episode 1

Eleanor's world is turned upside down when Conrad fails to come home from a conference.

Eleanor's world is turned upside down when Conrad fails to come home from a conference. Daughter Cara decides to go and look for him, while son Paul suspects their mother of murder.

The story of a marriage.

When Conrad fails to return from a science conference, Eleanor wonders if it is because of the affair she is having. But he has known about it for years.

Perhaps it's because his research into transgenic monkey hearts is stalling; perhaps he is sick of having the less successful career of the two of them? 

While he has been the main carer for the children, Eleanor's work with stem cells has forged ahead. And now the children are all grown up. They suspect Eleanor of murdering their father, but El secretly fears that what has driven Con away is his discovery of their daughter Cara's parentage. 

While his family in Manchester scrabble for clues and reasons, Conrad - alone, confused, and on the run from a crazed animal rights activist - loses himself in the cold foggy streets of Bologna, and revisits the stages of his long marriage to El, from the happiness of the year of Cara's birth to the grief and anger he now feels.

Both partners are forced to re-examine their marriage, and become aware of the shifting balance of power between them. In the process, they move closer to an understanding of what it is that matters most to each of them.

Read by Penny Downie, Robert Glenister and Jasmine Hyde
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced and Directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.

BBC Radio 4

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Riveting thriller about the secrets revealed in the midst of a disintegrating marriage.

By Jane Rogers. Riveting thriller about the devastating secrets revealed in the midst of a disintegrating marriage.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Book at Bedtime

Conrad and Eleanor

Episode 1

Contributors

Genres

Formats

Brand

Series

BBC Radio 4 LW

About BBC Radio 4